There follows a curious little piece that came out of the early spiritualist movement in the US, but that bears some resemblance to modern freakery about UFOs landing on the front lawn and greys appearing at the bottom of people’s beds with equipment far beyond the sleeper’s ken.

On the night of the 21st of November 1851, while sleeping alone in the third story of the house, I was awakened about one o’clock, by sounds of footsteps in my room. Looking up I saw five men, some of them dressed in ancient costume, walking about and conversing together. Some of them spoke with me, and among other things told me not to be frightened, that they would not harm me, &c. I attempted to rise, however to go downstairs, but found that my limbs were paralyzed.

Some initial thoughts. What would ‘ancient costumes’ mean to a mid-nineteenth-century spiritualist? Something Roman and sandally or people with ruffs and codpieces? Second, note the paralysed limbs at which psychologists prick up their ears: sleep paralysis? Note too that, at least according to our witness, later on in his account, he could hear carriages out on the street and the clock striking.

These strange visitants remained with me about three hours, and finally disappeared while going toward a window, and when within about two feet of it. They did not open the window. During the succeeding night and about the same hour, I was awakened in a similar manner, and saw several persons in my room. Some of those who were present on the previous night were present with others whom I had never seen before. One of them had what appeared to be a box about eighteen inches square, and some nine inches high: it seemed to contain electrical apparatus. They placed the box on the table, and then electrical emanations like currents of light of different colors, were seen issuing from the box.

Nothing in 1851 was capable of creating different coloured lights: right, drbeachcombing AT yahoo DOT com? As to the size of the box, it is pretty big by modern standards, but, Beach suppose, petite by the standards of the 1850s, particularly given what it was able to do.

One of the company placed a piece of paper, pen and ink on the lid of this box. The luminous currents now centered around the pen, which was immediately taken up and dipped in the ink, and without the application of any other force or instrument, so far as I could perceive, the pen was made to move across the paper, and a communication was made which I have since learned was in the Hebrew language.

Beach is reminded about a nineteenth-century English lady learning Hebrew because she believed that that was the language spoken in heaven. Is that what is going on here? Are these angels with carpal-tunnel syndrome?

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16/05/2013: The legendary KMH writes: This vision might make some sense if the person were Jewish. The group in strange costumes do come from heaven (which one isn’t clear) and those in heaven traditionally wear togas, tunics, etc., when they communicate with earthlings. The subject of their visit was to inform the person of their decision to let him see in 1851 terms a few aspects of the next 100 years. The machine imitates the teletype or automatic typewriter. Hebrew wasn’t spoken or known by Jews to any real degree before their influx into Palestine and the declaration of the state of Israel in 1948. So we see that the Jews are predicted to have their own language again at about the time that letters can be automatically placed on paper. Of course, Jews have a high regard for writings from a religious perspective, even more than Christians. So, the religion of this person would be a key in interpreting the vision.’ The JO writes: One or two notes in passing:1. The “ancient costume” he refers to may have been a cowl and cloak. Many of these little buggers (it is said) show up wearing a hooded robe. Additionally, they are sometimes said to wear tunics — though this is far less frequently reported. 2. The Hebrew bit sounds part and parcel of all the 19th-century spiritualism baloney. Even the Book of Mormon was said to have been composed in, if not Hebrew, a special angelic language. (That indomitable source Wikipedia gives it as “reformed Egyptian”.) I have followed the UFO/paranormal business for some years. While I don’t suppose anybody really knows what’s going on with any of it, the “sleep paralysis” hypothesis always brings a smile to my face: it’s rather hard to support a sleep paralysis explanation when it comes to multiple-witness sightings or events that leave behind physical evidence. A certain Jacques Vallee, I believe, came out with several books in the ’70s studying UFOs and alien contact from the point of view of folklore, noting the many similarities between contact/abduction tales and old faery stories.’ Thanks JO and KMH!!